Everybody's Golf 5: World Tour

a.k.a. Hot Shots Golf: Out of Bounds

Source // MobyGames

Do golfers find it concerning that the 1001 list has recommended cartoony iterations of the sport over realistic ones? It pointed us towards Golden Tee Live, yes, but also Mario Golf and even Wii Sports. It seems golf games are better when they're not so serious, as wonderfully demonstrated by Everybody's Golf 5: World Tour.

Chunky little cartoon bobbleheads, rainbow-coloured ball trails, even video footage of swimming dolphins.

Wait, what?

Source // MobyGames

Fun Times

Making its way to the PlayStation 3, World Tour, known by wildly different names around the world, is a simple golfing affair. Your two main modes are swinging your clubs with a purpose and swinging them for fun, but as much of the content is locked behind progress in the 'with a purpose' modes, you might as well start there.

Source // MobyGames

As a golfing novice, you'll be able to take part in several half-length games of golf, nine holes to see whether you've got the swing of things, with some competitions having specific rules to follow, though I either didn't play any of those or they didn't seem to affect me.

Eventually, you'll be able to go head to head with another character in a nine-hole knock-out of sorts, and if you win, you unlock them as a playable character.

Source // MobyGames

There are only two characters available at the start, and yes, they all look like this so get used to it. There will be a bunch of young and old golfers, and I've even seen guest appearances by Little Big Planet's Sackboy, though whether that's available for everyone or in DLC or something, I don't know.

Each character has stats regarding their power and accuracy, and your choice of club affects these too, though again, you'll have to work to unlock them. The more you use a character, the more familiarity you have with them, and the better they become. I'm not really sure why you'd be juggling multiple characters anyway - unless you have to to unlock everything.

Source // MobyGames

After selecting an event, my first loading screen was more or less an advert for the game I was playing. I've got the disc, thanks. Some of the screens are useful tips, but selling the game is always a strange one.

Source // MobyGames

So the golf begins. As you know, I'm not a massive fan of golf. I did, however, also say that I'm not a massive fan of tennis, and then Virtua Tennis came along and said 'you sure about that?', so World Tour may well have a chance here.

An overview of the hole clues you into your first challenge, and short scenes between you and your caddy welcome you into the game.

Source // MobyGames

There are two main methods to swinging clubs in World Tour, but they both rely on multiple presses of the X button. This traditional view shows a power gauge and a timing window and is perhaps what you're used to and expecting from a golf game. X to begin, X to set the power of the swing, X to time it with the sweet spot when the club hits the ball.

I, instead, went with the advanced controls, which I don't have a screenshot of, but consist of watching your character swing their club, pressing X when it's as far through its arc as you want (a ghostly club shows where full power would be, and glowing lights show you when 50% has been reached), then pressing X again when an accuracy circle is within a given space next to the ball.

Not the best explanation, but I think the best way to play World Tour. Ironically, perhaps, it feels more authentic for cartoon characters to have to rely on visual cues than on-screen graphics - and pressing down on the D-pad even has you character drop blades of grass to check for the wind direction.

Source // MobyGames

Frustrations

Do not adjust your sets, World Tour goes trippy to show you that you've gone and made a right mess of a shot, usually by being so abysmally early or late with your accuracy input that you're about to watch your ball do anything other than going down the fairway.

My first ever drive of the game went an incredible 1 and a half meters forward, after being hit right into the clouds. My first round of golf in this game went to +17, as I struggled to get the right power into my shots, and jumped the hole more times than is surely possible in a game of golf. It was like someone put a sheet of plexiglass over the damn thing, it was ridiculous.

But I attribute that failure to missing the subtle visual cues of the advanced controls, and once I learned what it was trying to tell me about the game, and when I bothered to adjust my shots to compensate for wind and the like, World Tour was becoming quite good.

Source // MobyGames

Source // MobyGames

Yes, I was in the beginner leagues, and yes, I was getting bored of the same nine holes again and again, but eventually, I got to the back half of the course, and after that went head to head with a spoilt little brat who thinks she's good at golf.

Annoyingly, a lot of the actual gameplay involves watching and waiting for the ball to land. It might be jazzed up with 'Nice shot!' splashing across your view, and your caddy doing an impression of Sonic the Hedgehog to meet the ball, and the spectators smiling and clapping with little 'Clap clap clap' sound effects sitting above their heads, but all of that gets old quick.

For a game so simple to play, you want to play it, not watch it. I started mashing the skip button to speed up play, but when it came to a head to head contest, you can't skip until they've swung their club, and the PS3 likes to think about the shots it takes, to the point where I thought it froze.

Luckily, if you play well, it will be impossible for your opponent to beat you, and the competition will end then and there. Your victory will increase your familiarity with your golfer and offer you mystery rewards from clubs to costumes. The more you play and win, the more you unlock.

Source // MobyGames

After celebrating your success, the autosave kicks in and, for reasons completely unknown to me, shows you real video footage of dolphins, or sunsets, or a killer whale jumping towards the camera, welcoming you to return soon.

I'd like to, World Tour, but you keep switching over to video footage, and it's confusing my TV and slowing everything down. What's wrong with a save icon in the corner like everyone else?

Final Word

I don't know how long I played Everybody's Golf 5: World Tour for, but I know it's easily my favourite golf game this list has shown me. Wii Sports can keep its motion-controlled gimmick: I want to enjoy my golf, not work for it.

Ugh, what have I just written? I don't like golf now, do I? Well, no. It's still a waste of land, and will always be better in a video game. Some of you might prefer anything with Tiger Woods' name on it, or the PGA logo instead, but for the rest of us that want a bit of fun instead, World Tour is an excellent choice.

It's not like it ignores realism, either. The courses are grounded in reality, the wind is just as annoying, club selection matters. On top of that happens to be cartoon characters who love what they're doing and actually keep me invested, and if that's what you want, then this is where you need to be.

We'll get to the Tiger Woods and the PGA's later, giving you plenty of time to enjoy Everybody's Golf 5: World Tour. Play it for a long time and you'll be all golfed out before we even get to those boring titles...

Fun Facts

If you really, really want to play golf as someone who isn't a cartoon, you can play as Japanese professional golfer Shigeki Maruyama. As a cartoon version of himself, obviously.

Everybody's Golf 5: World Tour, developed by Clap Hanz, first released in 2007.

Version played: Everybody's Golf: World Tour, PlayStation 3, 2008.